A Girl Named Ira
by hinghand
Summary: Gajeel adopts a little girl, what could possibly go wrong? Rated M for Gajeel's cussing and possible GaLe love scenes in future chapters. Short chapters so I can post a new one everyday (or try to at least). Reviews and constructive criticism welcomed.
1. Chapter 1: Ira

Gajeel stomped angrily through the crowded street, brooding about the pain in the ass job he'd just completed.

All he wanted was some food, then he was heading straight for home...and his cat. The large man spaced out for a moment thinking about his furry best friend when suddenly he felt his foot hit something and then heard loud crying.

He looked down and saw a tiny kid who couldn't have been older than 4 at the most. The kid was at Gajeel's feet crying and saying "I'm sorry." over and over. He glared down, realizing he must have kicked the kid, and for half a second actually felt bad. He bent down and picked the tiny thing up, making it cry even more.

"P-p-please d-d-don't hurt m-m-meeee!" it cried. He really couldn't tell if the kid was a boy or a girl, just that it was tiny, wearing worn out rags despite the cold, and had shoulder-length black matted hair.

"oy, oy!" he said, attempting but failing to sound less frightening. "I ain't gonna hurt ya!...Did you get hurt when I kicked you or just scared?"

"Just scared..." The kid whispered, reducing it's tears to just an occasional sniffle.

"What's your name, kid?

"...Urchin."

Gajeel growled, that didn't answer the gender question he had...And who the fuck would call their kid urchin? "Who calls you that? Your parents?"

"The grown-ups do. I don't have parents."

Gajeel sighed, so the kid was an orphan like him. "Ok then what are you? a boy or a girl?"

"I'm a girl! Stupid!" She suddenly yelled. It was plain to see the small girl took offence to the question, had to admit she had guts calling the giant man stupid. He asked her where she lived and she pointed to the small alley next to a ramen restaurant. He figured his best bet was to ask the guy in there about the girl.

After beating the answers he needed out of the ramen guy and getting some food for both of them, Gajeel knew what he had to do. At first he argued with himself that he didn't need a kid, but looking at her he remembered himself and how Metallicana, a ruthless dragon, had taken him in...and he'd be damned if he was outweighed in humanity by that asshole dragon.

He walked out of the restaurant, the kid on his heels, but she turned to walk to the alley after a few feet.

"Hey kid where ya going?" She looked at the man like he was crazy until he continued, "You can come stay with me if ya want. I don't mind." Hearing this the small girl continued to stare, wondering if the man was teasing her. When she was convinced he was serious she ran and threw herself at Gajeel, who managed to catch her before she faceplanted into the road. He held her and she hugged him with all her might. He began walking to the hotel, figuring he'd get cleaned up and sleep before heading home, he missed the last train anyway.

"Hey mister..." she said, breaking the silence as they walked. "What's your name?"

"Gajeel."

"Oh, that's better than Urchin"

"Your name ain't Urchin, kid."

"Then what is it?" She asked with wide expecting eyes.

He thought this over for a moment, what was a good name for a girl? He could just call her Lily after his cat, but that could get confusing. Iron was his other favorite thing but that wasn't really a name, unless he used something that just sounded similar.

"Ira." He said, proud with himself for thinking of it. "Your name is Ira Lily Redfox." He couldn't help but laugh at the huge smile she wore after hearing her new name, but she still had one more question.

"Gajeel?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you my papa now?"

He stopped walking for a moment and stared into her large dark eyes, trying to think of the answer to that question. He'd picked her up off the street and given her a home and a name. Being called papa seemed alien to him but he wasn't sure what else he would be called in this situation. He'd called Metallicana dad, right?

"Yeah...Yeah I guess I am." He said, not quite believing it himself but feeling strangely good about it.

Content with the answer he'd given Ira nuzzled deeper into his arms, her new papa's arms.

Gajeel Redfox, the terrifying bastard of an iron dragon slayer, was a father.


	2. Chapter 2: A Bath Before Bed

"IRA FOR FUCK'S SAKE, STOP GETTING WATER EVERYWHERE!" Gajeel roared. When they got back to his hotel room he'd made a bath for Ira to wash herself, but the kid seemed more interested in swimming and splashing than getting clean.

"Sorry." She whimpered, curling herself into a ball on the edge of the tub.

"Ugh it's fine just...just stay still for a minute!" He pulled the curtain between them and undressed himself, tying a towel around his waist. Gajeel pulled the curtain back again and got in the tub, much to Ira's amusement.

"You're gonna bath with me?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah considering you can't seem to do it yourself." he half-growled, pulling her closer so he could start washing her off.

He honestly had no idea what he was doing. When Metallicana thought he'd been too dirty he'd either give him a tongue bath or throw him in a river, and it was obvious Gajeel couldn't do either of those things to his daughter.

His daughter...an hour ago he was alone in the world except for Lily and maybe Levy. Now he had a person whose entire life was depending on him. It was scary, but in a good way. It was a challenge, and he loved challenges.

As the dirt was all rubbed away Gajeel couldn't help but growl in anger. He noticed more and more of the scars and bruises she had. Not to mention how tiny she was from practically starving. Sure, He was a bit of a sadistic asshole himself, but even at his worst he never even considered hurting a baby. He might steal a toy or candy to get them upset, but wouldn't actually hurt them. Some lines just shouldn't be crossed.

Gajeel gave the washcloth to the little girl so she could clean between her legs while he started on the rat's nest that was her hair. He knew he was going to have to cut a lot of it off, but hopefully he could get the major tangles out. Although he'd never admit it to anyone except Lily, Gajeel was sure he knew every bit as much about hair as any girl, his own mane was nearly down to his hips after all.

After nearly an hour they were both finally clean and dried off. The bath water had ended up pretty nasty by the time they were done, so they had to shower off as well. Gajeel managed to save most of Ira's hair, but had to cut out the impossible tangles. She now had uneven layers that stuck out in every direction, much like his own. It was actually pretty cute how they matched, but he'd never admit he thought so.

He put one of his wife-beaters on her which dragged the floor and practically fell off of her tiny shoulders. Oh well, it just had to work for tonight, he'd get her something else to wear before they left for home. Turning off all the lights he picked up Ira and put her on the bed, climbing in on the other side. The bed was plenty big enough for both of them but the little girl insisted on getting as close as humanly possible to the dragon slayer and curled up in ball against his chest.

"Goodnight Papa"

"Night Ira"


	3. Chapter 3: Gajeel And Ira's First Day

Gajeel was used to waking up cuddling with a small cat, that was just his life ever since he'd found Lily, but waking up next to a kid (he wasn't sure if she still counted as a toddler or not) who was currently sucking her thumb, was something he never thought would ever happen. He stared at her for awhile, his gaze soft and non-threatening for once, then by chance he happened to notice the clock.

_Shit, it's already 10 o'clock! _The train left at noon and he still had to pack up his crap, feed Ira, and take her shopping for something other than his shirt to wear.

He quietly got out of the bed and started getting his clothes together in his bag, luckily he travelled light and was done within a few minutes. Now for the kid...

"Hey. Ira. Wake up." He said as gently as he could manage, which was still pretty gruff. She just rolled over, completely ignoring him. "Ira. Up." He shook her a bit, already losing his patience.

Ira woke up and for a second was terrified, which Gajeel could easily tell by her scent and eyes, but the girl calmed down as soon as she recognized it was just her new papa and not someone who was going to hurt her. The tiny girl hugged the large man, making sure he was actually there and she hadn't dreamed it all. She knew it was real when he hugged her back while picking her up.

"Come on, kid. We gotta get you fed and dressed." he said, lifting her up to sit on his shoulders and grabbing his bag. "Whadaya want for breakfast?"

"What's breakfast?" she asked. She'd heard the word many times, but wasn't sure what it meant. Gajeel just sighed and walked out the door, intending on going to the diner he'd ate at the last week.

"Well hey there honey! I thought you were gonna be long gone by now." The overly cheerful waitress said. "I'm guessing you want the usual but what about this little cutie?"

"Anything look good to you, Ira?" Gajeel asked. The little girl had a kids' menu with pictures but she was so overwhelmed with all the choices she had no idea.

After about a minute He figured she wasn't going to pick for herself.

"Get her a couple pancakes, a scrambled egg, some bacon, and a big glass of milk." He ordered. She had to like at least one thing he picked out, right?

The waitress smiled and came back with their food a couple minutes later. Gajeel wasted no time on his meat lover's breakfast with scrap metal thrown in, but when he looked over at Ira she still had the overwhelmed look on her face, not really knowing where to start.

"Oy hurry up and eat your food or I won't have time to buy you new clothes." he said with his mouth full. Seeing that her father was serious Ira started chowing down and ended up having her plate finished before Gajeel did.

"Papa I finished. Can we go now?" She asked, her big brown eyes begging the same way Levy's did.

"Yeah come on." he said as he swallowed his last bit of food. He sat the money for their breakfast on the table and picked her up, placing her back on his shoulders. They only had an hour to pick her out something to wear and get to the train station in time.

Gajeel walked through the accessories store that he was forced to enter with Ira. She already had a black dress with a blue jacket and a pair of combat boots, but a bandana in the window had perked the girl's interest. As they were walking back to the front of the store with the bandana she finally decided on, Ira suddenly stopped.

"Oy, kid, what's wrong?" Gajeel growled, he'd had enough of all this girly shit to last a lifetime. Ira just continued to stand there staring at another little girl getting her ears pierced.

"What? You want to get your ears done too?" She nodded and continued to stare.

"It hurts, ya know." he stated, and as if on cue the other girl started to cry.

"I don't care." Ira said. "I won't cry. I wanna be like papa."

Gajeel laughed and gave in, picking Ira up he carried her over to the booth that did the piercings and sat her down on the stool.

"She wants her ears done." He barked at the young lady who surprisingly had a face as decorated as his own. She smiled and asked Ira to pick out a pair of earrings. It was almost like the breakfast menu until she saw the perfect pair.

"These ones." she said, eagerly pointing to a pair of small silver earrings that looked like dragons. Gajeel smirked and before they knew it Ira's ears were pierced and they were running to the train station, getting on at the last second.

"The train's not going to get home until later tonight," Gajeel said as he stretched out on 2 seats. "so you should take a nap or something. If you need anything just wake me up." and almost instantly the dragon slayer fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4: The Train Ride Home

By the time the hectic ten hour train ride ended, Gajeel was ready to kill someone.

When he'd woken up from his nap Ira was gone and he had ransacked the entire car looking for her, only for the small girl to come out of the bathroom a moment later.

After that they had dinner, but the food was horrible so neither of them ate much, which was now adding to the irritation of the dragon slayer.

Then, about three hours from Magnolia the two thought they'd just sleep the rest of the ride home. Gajeel was taking up two seats again with Ira on his chest, tightly secured by his big arm. He was nearly asleep when Ira started crying, whimpering that she wasn't feeling well she vomiting on his chest without any other warning. The smell of the vomit reached his sensitive nose and he ran for the bathroom himself, holding a crying Ira who was looking like she was about to spew again. They spent the remaining time in the bathroom puking and feeling downright horrible. The iron dragon slayer had thrown away his shirt and cleaned up himself and the little girl, who was now crying as he held her, both still sitting on the bathroom floor. Ira kept apologizing while Gajeel tried to reassure her that it wasn't her fault and that he wasn't angry at her (though he may kill the kitchen staff because he was sure what little they ate of the food made them sick). Eventually the little girl cried herself to sleep, still in Gajeel's large arms.

Pantherlily didn't know whether to be amused or disturbed at the sight he saw coming off the train. Gajeel was walking towards him, a deadly glint in his eyes, but that was normal. What wasn't normal was how disheveled and shirtless the usually habitually bored man was, not to mention the small child he was carrying, which was the biggest question of all.

"Fun trip?" Lily asked sarcastically, earning a growl. "You know when I asked for a souvenir I meant food or a trinket of some sort, not a child."

"Fuck you, cat!" Gajeel yelled, causing the small girl in his arms to stir and whimper. "No, not you kid," he said to her in a much calmer voice, "you go back to sleep for now."

Lily couldn't really believe the scene that was unfolding in front of him. Gajeel was acting somewhat fatherly and the child didn't appear to be afraid of him at all. He silently wondered if this was actually Gajeel, or at least this world's Gajeel.

"You're going to explain her, right Gajeel?" the cat asked, knowing the man would often say something like 'Shit just happened.' in weird situations.

"When we get home." He muttered. "Can you stop at the guild and have that demon barmaid make us a pot of soup though? The kid needs to eat and I could use some food too."

Pantherlily agreed and they started heading towards their destinations. Suddenly Gajeel called out to his cat. "Hey! Don't tell anyone about this!"

"I can't tell what I don't know." the exceed smirked. _But one way or another, I'll make you explain this later._


	5. Chapter 5: Ira Explained

Gajeel had never been so happy to see his crappy apartment in his life, but now looking around he realized just how crappy it really was. He'd been keeping it cleaner since Lily moved in, but they both had weapons laying around everywhere. There were also a few dirty magazines which Gajeel immediately threw away. He'd rather not have them than ending up having to explain them, and they didn't excite him anymore anyway.

It wasn't the ideal place to keep a kid' but it was better than an old alleyway. At any rate he could start fixing it up like he'd been meaning to.

He woke up Ira and took her to the bathroom so they could shower off and change, realizing after they were clean that she'd have to wear one of his shirts again. He was going to have to go shopping again tomorrow and it wouldn't be for just an hour. Wonderful. Maybe he could get Levy to do it? No, he didn't want to bug her, plus he intended on keeping Ira a secret for as long as possible, even from the small bluenette mage.

Lily came home after a short while, carrying a big pot of chicken soup that Mirajane had made. He set the pot down and smirked.

"Levy sends her regards." the exceed said, winking at Gajeel who growled.

"...The kitty talks." Ira squeaked, never having seen an exceed before. Lily jumped up next to her on the couch and introduced himself.

"Hello there," he smiled. "I'm Pantherlily, and I'm actually an exceed. I can fly and get as big as Gajeel when I want to." The young girl looked at him in amazement, then something clicked in her mind.

"Oh! My name is Lily too! I'm Ira Lily though." She exclaimed, not knowing he was the reason she was named that.

"Oh really? Well that's a very nice name."

"My papa gave it to me!" She smiled happily

"I see, and who's your papa?" Lily asked, wondering where this was going. He got his answer when she pointed to the large man next to them and he let out his signature "Gihi."

"Care to elaborate, Gajeel?" He couldn't help but wonder if the man had lost it and kidnapped a random child. Though why even an insane Gajeel would kidnap someone he had no idea.

"Shit just happened." Gajeel smirked, knowing his partner hated when he said that. Lily began to growl something but Gajeel cut him off.

"Ira, when you're done it's time for bed. It's through that door, I'll be in after a while." The small girl puffed up her cheeks, making it clear she didn't want to go to bed, but she gave in after getting a stern look from her papa. She wasn't afraid of him, she just didn't want to make him upset with her.

After the little girl finished her soup and disappeared into the bedroom Gajeel got serious and started talking things over with Pantherlily. He told his cat all about his mission beforehand and how afterwords he found the girl alone on the streets. Lily agreed that taking her in was the right thing to do, but still wondered why his asshole best friend in front of him would do it. They talked late into the night about what they were going to do until eventually neither one could stay awake and they climbed into bed with the snoring child.

Early the next morning Lily brought Master Makarov to the apartment like Gajeel asked. He then excused himself to leave the two men alone to talk.

"What is it, Gajeel?" the old man asked. "Usually we talk in my office."

"Yeah well this couldn't wait. Listen, I don't think I can keep up the dangerous missions anymore. Particularly Raven Tail." The man got straight to the point as usual.

"And why is that?" Makarov asked, getting slightly angry.

"I actually have someone who needs me now." He simply stated. When the master looked at him confused Gajeel got up and walked to the bedroom, only to come out a moment later carrying a child still groggy from sleep. The old man was taken aback.

"Who's this?" He asked, his anger now gone as the old man had a soft spot for children.

"Well long story short she's my kid." Gajeel stated. "She was alone on the street and I brought her home."

Master Makarov nodded, that kind of thing wasn't all that strange in his eyes as he'd done practically the same thing with Erza, Natsu, Gray, Cana, and most of the other young people in his guild.

"I'll see what I can do about Raven Tail," He said calmly, "but my son may come after you."

"That's why I want her to be a secret for now. If nobody knows about her she won't be in as much danger."

"Isn't that the same excuse you use for not getting close to Levy?" The old man laughed at the iron dragon slayer's annoyed expression and continued. "You may want to ask Alzack and Bisca to help out a bit. Their daughter is just a bit older so they could give you tips and probably some of Asuka's old clothes."

Gajeel had completely forgotten that those two had a kid. He hadn't paid much attention to them before, but now he actually could use their help. He continued to think as Ira began to giggle, trying to get out of his grasp. He set her down and she stared at the short old man in front of her.

"Hello child, I'm master Makarov." He said, all smiles. He enjoyed that the new generation of guild members was already starting. He didn't even care if the young girl was capable of magic, having children around made him feel young again.

"Hi.." Ira said sheepishly. She was still tired and a bit shy in front of the man she didn't know, but she soon warmed up to him and before Gajeel knew what was happening they were both running amuck and playing around. He yelled at the old man that he was going to find the gun mages and would be back soon. Makarov just shooed him out, enjoying playing with his new grandchild.


	6. Chapter 6: She Can't Be His

It'd been three months, and Levy was seriously starting to worry about Gajeel. He was hardly ever at the guild anymore except for the occasional food or a new job. Pantherlily hadn't been going on jobs with him either, it was like they were alternating. The small bluenette couldn't help but wonder if the two had gotten in a fight. Or rather an argument that couldn't be solved with their fists.

Gajeel was at the guild now and Levy watched as he talked with Alzack. They seemed very serious about whatever they were talking about, but were also laughing. _Since when were those two so close? _

It wasn't like the dragon slayer was avoiding her, when he was around he'd say hi or drink a beer next to her, but she missed him constantly being next to her or watching her from the corner. The young mage sighed and went to sit outside, watching Gajeel from a distance was making her even more lonely, and she was starting to feel Juvia's stalking had rubbed off on her.

As soon as Levy stepped outside a small girl ran right into her and fell at the impact.

"Are you okay!?" Levy rushed to pick up the child who was crying profusely.

"Where's Fairy Tail!?" the little girl screamed, she was about in hysterics.

"What you you need in Fairy Tail? It's the building right here..." Levy said, only to be cut off by the little girl running towards the door, and screaming that she needed her papa. Levy didn't know of anyone in the guild who had a kid that young, even Asuka was quite a few years older.

"Papa! Papa!" Ira screamed as she entered the guild. Gajeel was already at her side as he'd heard her from outside.

"Ira, what's wrong?" he said, picking the girl up off the ground. He knew the entire guild was staring at him, but he didn't care. Right now something was wrong with his daughter, nothing else mattered.

"Lily's hurt! He needs help!" she managed to get out between sobs. Gajeel understood and ran over to where Wendy was. He told her she was coming with him as he threw the small dragon slayer over his shoulder and began to run, followed by Charla, who demanded he put Wendy down.

Levy watched as Gajeel bolted from the guild with Wendy over his shoulder, the girl from before in his arm, and Charla flying after him..._Wait, is Gajeel that girl's dad? That...that's not possible. She can't be his._ Levy had to know what was going on, so she started following the iron dragon slayer as well. Yeah, Juvia's habit had definitely rubbed off on her.

Gajeel had figured out most of what happened by the time they got to Lily. Ira was crying the whole time, but managed to explain that they were eating a picnic in the woods when a monster (which Gajeel figured was a vulcan) attacked. Pantherlily had jumped on Ira to protect her and took the dangerous swipe to his back. Apparently he managed to defeat the monster, but then collapsed, telling Ira to go find Gajeel.

When they found Lily lying on the forest floor he was back to his small form, making his injury bigger than it already was. Wendy jumped off of Gajeel's shoulder and ran to her exceed friend, immediately using her powers to help heal him. Luckily the cuts looked worse than they actually were, and Lily would be fine. He wouldn't be able to fly for a few weeks however, seeing as one of his wings was torn. Gajeel was just happy that his cat was alive and would stay that way.

A breeze went by and the dragon slayer caught the familiar scent of the bookworm. He knew she must be watching him near by, but right now he needed to get home where Lily could rest and Ira would stop bawling. He'd talk to the shrimp later.


	7. Chapter 7: The Bed's Big Enough For Two

Gajeel plopped down on his couch and opened his beer, it'd been a rough day after getting home and he'd just spent an hour trying to get Ira to fall asleep. She was still scared about what had happened earlier, and even once Gajeel convinced her that he was the strongest and meanest thing that would ever get near her, she still needed three stories to calm her down enough to sleep.

The large man sighed and leaned back on his couch, thoroughly enjoying his beer in silence.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The sound of someone loudly knocking on his door instantly pissed him off. He'd just gotten the kid to sleep and he'd be damned if she was woken up again now. The large man took 3 of his giant steps to the door and swung it open before the person could knock again.

"What the fuck do you wa..." His roar died down as he looked into startled brown eyes. "Oh, it's you shrimp." he muttered, moving from the door so she could come in. "Whatcha doin here so late?"

Levy looked at him as if he were insane. He was shirtless and only wearing boxers, with his long dark hair tied back in a braid. _Why does he have to be so attractive?_ "Late? Well I guess it is almost eleven...If you want me to leave I will."

Gajeel grunted as he flopped back down on his couch, "Nah it's fine, I just thought it was later than that...But be quiet so ya don't wake up the kid."

Levy stared at him at the word 'kid', but continued to walk over to the couch to sit next to him. She awkwardly held out the basket she was holding.

"I brought Lily some kiwi, how's he doing?"

"He's fine. He woke up a bit after I brought him home and just fell back asleep a little while ago."

"That's good, I saw what happened earlier and was worried."

"Gihi I know you saw, I could smell you spying on us." He smirked when she blushed and looked away, which ended up creating an awkward silence.

"So..." Levy started, finally breaking the silence."Who's the little girl?"

Gajeel just laughed, he knew that's what was coming. "She's my kid." He said bluntly, once again smirking at the small bluenette's shocked and confused expression.

"I see...who's her mother?" She asked timidly, a bit afraid of the answer.

"Hell if I know. I picked her up off the street a few months ago. She was alone and probably wouldn't have made it much longer on her own." He swished back a drink of his beer, still angry about how he'd found the girl hurt and abandoned.

"You could have told me, you know." Levy was a bit angry now. "I've been worried about you! I'm sure it's been hard on you and Lily, and I could have been helping you guys out."

"The only people I told were the master and the cowboy...and only reason I told him is because the old man insisted."

"But why didn't you tell me, Gajeel?"

"I didn't feel I needed to." He lied. _I wanted to tell ya the first night...But I can't let either of ya get hurt._

"I thought we were friends, Gajeel." She hissed at him. "And if not we're at least guild-mates and you can trust me." Levy was almost in tears, she honestly couldn't understand any reason as to why he was hiding something so big from her. "Why don't you trust me? I trust you..."

Gajeel sighed, how was he supposed to explain without upsetting the small woman even more? "Listen Levy, it ain't that I don't trust ya." Gajeel paused, wondering how much he should tell. "There are some jobs that the master had me doing that are dangerous. They could kill me at any point if they wanted, but that doesn't scare me. The reason I can do these jobs is because I don't have anybody close who they can use against me, or at least I didn't. I haven't even told Lily about this stuff, all he knows is what I'm tellin ya now. Thing is, the less people who know the safer everyone is. Lily can protect himself but the girl can't...and I don't want you gettin hurt cuz of me either."

Levy nodded her head in understanding, and surprised Gajeel by sliding closer to him on the couch and hugging his arm.

"I know the master gives you dangerous missions, I'm not stupid." She sighed, "But I don't accept what you're saying. I care about you and I don't care if that puts me in danger. Plus, I live in a dorm with some of the strongest mages in all of Earthland. Ira would be safe with me, and you'd be safer taking Lily on missions with you." The small woman stared into his eyes, keeping his gaze.

"Gajeel I don't want to lose you, but if you keep being so stubborn and refusing help that's what's going to happen. Please don't leave me. I need you."

Gajeel stared at the woman still clinging to him. _Did she just confess to me?_ Before he knew what was happening he was responding.

"I don't wanna to lose you either, Shrimp. That's why I'm so stubborn. I won't let ya get hurt."

Levy nuzzled deeper into his arm and sighed. "Well I guess that makes two of us. I know you're going on a mission tomorrow, and if Lily wasn't hurt I'd make you take him. I'll just have to come back in the morning and take care of both of them."

The large man glared at Levy until her last sentence finally clicked in his brain.

"What do ya mean come back? Yer spending the night."

"Huh-what?" Levy stuttered. _What is he saying?_

"I said yer staying here tonight. I can't leave right now to walk ya home, and there's no way I'm lettin ya go alone."

"Gajeel you idiot I'm an adult! I can walk home by myself!"

"Yeh, during the day maybe, but it's nearly midnight and we're on the shitty side of town. Plus it's like an hour walk to the dorms. Just stay here."

"Fine." She gave in at his surprisingly reasonable argument. "I didn't bring any sleep clothes though."

Gajeel grumbled while getting up and walking to his room. He came back out a minute later and threw a black t-shirt on top of Levy's head.

"There. You can change into that and sleep in the bed, I'll take the couch."

"No. I'm not going to take your bed."

"Oh for fuck's sake woman I'm tired! Will you just do what I say for once?"

"Well if you're tired then you should sleep in your own bed! It's plenty big enough for two people!" She said without fully thinking. Gajeel immediately shut up and just stared. _What is she playing at?_

"...What?"

"Your bed is big enough for two." Levy calmly stated, though on the inside she was freaking out. "we slept next to each other on Tenrou...in fact we spent seven years sleeping beside each other, so stop being idiotic." At that she got up and walked into the bathroom to change, walking out just a bit after dressed in Gajeel's giant shirt. _Fuck. She looks too good in that._

Levy stuck out her tongue and walked into his room as he followed, obviously confused and beaten. The small woman was already curled up in his bed and staring at him. He figured he had no argument against this, (that wouldn't send her running) so he just crawled into bed as well, which was awkward considering he'd never bothered to put on any clothes.

_This is gonna be a hard night. _He thought, turning away from Levy as he felt a certain part of his body start to wake up. _A really hard night._


End file.
